Wednesday, November 26, 2008

happy (pre-) thanksgiving!

i am grateful for a daughter who wakes me with kisses every morning, and brings me beautiful treasures (like this one!) every afternoon..she has taught me what it means to truly love someone, and my life will never be the same...

i am going to take a break from the internet for a while, so i wish you all a wonderful holiday and a rest-filled weekend!....i will be back on monday, and will post five days worth of photos then.

november 26th.



since i didn't have to be at work until 9am today (and zoe still gets up before dawn), i decided to make some pre-thanksgiving muffins for the folks at the office..yesterday, the wonderful heather smith jones posted this recipe on her blog, and it sounded almost -perfect-...i decided to substitute dried cranberries for the raisins and/or pecans, and to top them off with a sprinkle of almond brickle before baking.
so, here is the modified version of heather's wonderful recipe:
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin (you can be fancy and use whole pumpkin and a food processor..but it was 6am, and i don't do fancy at 6am.)
  • 1 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup almond brickle

combine brown sugar, butter, and molasses; beat well. add egg & pumpkin, beating until smooth. stir together the dry ingredients and add to the pumpkin mixture. stir just until moistened. fill lightly greased muffin pans, a little over half-full. (this made exactly twenty-one muffins...if i had only filled the cups half-full, i could have probably made a full two dozen.) sprinkle almond brickle over the top of the batter before baking in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes (or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean). remove from oven, let cool for one minute before removing muffins from pan.

once i got to the office, i warmed them up in our little convection oven for about two minutes, with a spot of butter....sooooooo good.

(and, on a side note---next time i plan on taking a bunch of pictures of my hands, i will try to not have ugly chipped nail polish..heh.)

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

november 25th.

should i make this..or these..?

Monday, November 24, 2008

etsy bloggers' featured blog: storybeader.

this month's featured blog in the land of etsy bloggers is storybeader. deb (the face behind the name), creates super-pretty treasures like this jade necklace:each piece is lovingly made, and comes with an original haiku!
take a second to see what else is in her wonderful shop, and check out the blog, too!

november 24th.


november 23rd.

november 22nd.

Friday, November 21, 2008

november 21st.


s t i l l:body.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

november 20th.

"dwell not upon thy weariness, thy strength shall be according to the measure of thy desire."
--arab proverb.

self portrait challenge.
"there are two kinds of light--the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures."
--james thurber.

s t i l l:body.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

november 19th.



...not double bergamot, though...

s t i l l:body

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

november 18th.

s t i l l:body.

and this:



(via derek.)

november 17th.

i'm searching just like everyone..
i could be anyone.

november 16th.

"every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures."
--henry ward beecher.

november 15th.

happy birthday, mama ruth!

november 14th.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

november 13th.

i am better
than this job.

shane would say that is an extreme understatement,
but i don't know if i would go that far.

still....

self portrait challenge.

november 12th.

"sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."
--thich nhat hanh.


...thanks, paco.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

november 11th.

to the countless men and women who have served and defended this country...
thank you.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

november 10th.

i have this recurring nightmare
where i am fired from my job
and forced to return to the
mcdonald's
i worked at in high school..

Monday, November 10, 2008

november 9th.

november 8th.


i am
-that girl-.

november 7th.


self portrait challenge.

november 6th.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

november 5th.

"love is not blind- it sees more, not less. but because it sees more, it is willing to see less.."
--rabbi julius gordon.

happy guy fawkes night!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

november 4th.



i did.
did -you-..??
if so, go celebrate with free coffee at starbucks and donuts at krispy kreme.

november 3rd.


whatever.

Monday, November 3, 2008

november 2nd.

today's lessons learned:
-mass hysteria is alive and well in the 30-something-year-old female population of america.-when the tickets say "no cameras", sometimes they are lying.
-this guy likes big women, too.-the st. pete times forum does not sell beer past ten o'clock pm on sunday nights.
-it is possible to have a cute cop get on the floor and do the new kids' dance.
-i still know all the words to this song.

november 1st.

today begins national novel writing month.
fifty-thousand-words seems like a -lot-.

october 31st.


my butterfly/ballerina/princess
loves me

enough
to bring me cotton
candy
as big as her head.